


Unexpected Gifts

by mlle_ledoux



Series: Behind the Curtain [1]
Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Imp the Literal Wingman, References to Alien Anatomy, Science Dorks Trying To Flirt, Tactile Defensiveness, UST, WAFF, headcanons ahoy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-26
Updated: 2019-12-27
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:15:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,623
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21976459
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mlle_ledoux/pseuds/mlle_ledoux
Summary: Entrapta has a lab partner, and Hordak has more problems than he can count.  Yet the Winter Solstice brings out the spirit of generosity and reveals exactly how much attention they've been paying to each other.  Set in Season 2.
Relationships: Entrapta/Hordak (She-Ra)
Series: Behind the Curtain [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1582915
Comments: 85
Kudos: 562





	1. An "Imp"ortant Reminder

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Update 04/01/20:** No, this is NOT an April Fools'!
> 
> The amazing and wonderful cinamoncune (https://cinamoncune.tumblr.com/) has drawn fanart for this fic! *fangirl squee*
> 
> I would love to post the pictures themselves in the fic as illustrations, but I have read that wreaks havoc on people reading fics on their phones, so I've put links instead. Please go show cinamoncune some love for being so talented!

"And what news do you have for me today, Imp?"

Imp swooped down, coming to lightly land on Hordak's lap. He scanned the throne room and, realizing the room was empty at the moment, tilted his head back slightly.

Hordak allowed himself an impatient sigh before carefully combing his fingers through the patch of hair on the top of Imp's head.

Imp's eyes closed and he gave a satisfied smile before dutifully opening his mouth. "Hey, Octavia!" the booming voice of Force Captain Scorpia filled the room. "Happy Solstice!"

"Should've known you'd have a present for everybody, like always," Octavia responded. "Here, got you something, too."

One of Hordak's brow ridges raised slightly. "You call that news?"

Imp tilted his head back far enough to give Hordak a look that would send anybody else to Beast Island before opening his mouth again. A slightly high-pitched male voice came out. "Oh, hey Rogelio." This was followed by several grunts and roars that seemed a little bashful. "A Solstice gift? For me?" More low-key roars. "Thanks, buddy."

"I am growing impatient," Hordak warned.

Imp screeched, fed up with his master's refusal to take a hint, and turned fully around so he was facing Hordak, looking him directly in the eye before opening his mouth one final time. "Entrapta!"

Hordak snarled and Imp took off for the safety of the rafters. Hordak's fist slammed down on the button on the right-hand arm of his throne, sealing the door between the throne room and the rest of the main complex closed so no one else would see the fearsome leader of the Horde with his ears absolutely parallel to the ground and his normally bone white face stained with color. "How dare you!" he roared.

Imp chittered before letting loose another sound byte. "Entrapta..."

That one was even worse. Hordak could feel the tips of his ears burning as well now. Even with the room completely empty, he was absolutely mortified on a number of levels. Both samples had been recorded while he was asleep. At least the first iteration of Entrapta's name, obviously a shout, could be explained away to any bystanders. He dearly wished he could force Imp to record over that second one, though. It was needy. Desirous.

Non-defective Horde Clones, including himself back in his prime, never needed true sleep and certainly never dreamed. Yet as his body had started to break down, every single basic need that should have been engineered out of him reared its ugly head. Originally, a single nutrient pack would carry a clone's energy needs for a fortnight with no byproducts. Hordak knew the fact that he had to cobble a close derivative together from what was on Etheria didn't help, but he currently needed to go through at least three packs a day or he would collapse and there were.. byproducts.

Yet that was not as hideously embarrassing as the other things his failing organic body did. The sheer number of hours he had to waste every day with sleeping was bad enough, but all too often dreams that were apparently quite vivid in a number of ways that he could never fully remember woke him. However, a certain type of dream had become much more frequent of late, though he would never have realized the change if he were not so painfully efficient at taking stock of what new curveballs his body decided to throw him.

Dreams that apparently made him repeat a certain individual's name in tones that he would die if she ever actually heard.

Hordak was startled out of his musing by the return of Force Captain Scorpia's voice, "Hey, Entrapta, you awake?" followed by the _whoosh_ of a door opening.

"Scorpia? What is it?"

The blush that had nearly subsided came back, but in a much more gentle shade, and Hordak could feel the tips of his ears flicking. Warmth filled his chest, hearing Entrapta's voice thick with sleep as he tried _not_ to imagine what she was or was not wearing.

"Happy Solstice!" Force Captain Scorpia replied.

"Solstice? That's today?!" No trace of sleepiness remained. In fact, Entrapta sounded almost panicked.

"Yeah."

"I knew I should have set an alarm! I thought I had more time!"

"Hey, whoa, Entrapta. Slow down. It's okay. There's still fifteen hours before the end of the day. What's the rush?" Force Captain Scorpia asked.

Booted feet, as well as the slap of slippered ones, against metal flooring filled the momentary pause in conversation. Then Hordak's breath caught as he realized what he was hearing. The sliding of fabric and rubber against skin. He grit his teeth and glared at the utterly unrepentant Imp who was giving him a smug look even as his mouth continued to be open wide. 

Then, finally, Entrapta answered Scorpia's question. "I have things brewing in my microlab that I don't know if they'll be done in time. According to my calculations I've done everything right, but if this batch isn't successful, I'll have missed Solstice!"

"Sounds pretty important," Scorpia said.

"It is." There was a beat of silence before Entrapta's voice continued. "I'm sorry. Here you are with a present for me, and I didn't even think of getting you one."

"No biggie," Scorpia told her. "Seriously, I try and get everyone I know something for Solstice so I have a stockpile." Another pause. "So, it sounds like there is someone you _did_ remember."

Hordak knew that tone. The insinuation. And he already knew it would fly completely over Entrapta's head. A theory absolutely confirmed when Entrapta responded.

"I usually ignore Solstice. I've never really had anybody to exchange gifts with, so it's been just another day." The tinge of sadness Hordak heard in her voice pulled at him, but that sympathy turned to embarrassment again as she fell neatly into his Force Captain's well-laid trap. "But I have a lab partner now!"

Hordak groaned and, since the door to the throne room was still closed, he allowed himself to rest his forehead in his hand. Force Captain Scorpia might not be the most clever of his Force Captains, but she was very shrewd when it came to emotions. The fact that there was one person Entrapta remembered on Solstice would not be lost on her.

One person Entrapta remembered.

Hordak raised his head and glared up at Imp again. "Why couldn't you have just led with that?"

Imp gave a high-pitched giggle before playing another soundbyte, this time in the tones of Force Captain Catra. "What's the fun in that?"

"You are lucky I have nothing to throw at you," Hordak grumbled, taking stock to make sure he had pulled himself together before opening the door to the throne room again. He needed to think, but he also needed to keep up appearances. Hopefully everyone would be too busy with their own Solstice gift-giving to even think of bothering him today.

~*~*~*~

While it galled him to realize how much he had observed about his lab partner, Hordak justified it as his old skills as Horde Prime's top general hadn't completely deserted him.

After his required "office hours", he had retreated to his private quarters. Fortunately, no one had come into the throne room all morning, so he had been able to come up with a suitable answer to the question of what in the universe you could procure or make for someone with as specific tastes as Entrapta. It had not escaped his notice that Entrapta never took her gloves off. He wasn't even sure if she did so to sleep or bathe. Anything requiring delicate work was done with her hair, which meant that her gloves had to hamper her hand movements at least somewhat. 

He had also noticed that the vast majority of gestures she made towards other people were done with her hair. High-five? Hair. Fist-bump? Hair. Touching or grabbing other people? Hair. He was not entirely certain his theory was correct, but her protectiveness of her hands reminded him of the way he was always subtly aware of protecting his torso, the currently most vulnerable part of his body even with armor on. There was no way to know if her hands had been damaged, or if she was just sensitive. He knew from firsthand experience how painful, and annoying, working around said sensitivities could be.

Still, he had felt as though he were invading her privacy when he'd asked Imp to try and discover anything about what Entrapta's current gloves were made of. Imp had returned so quickly Hordak had a sneaking suspicion Imp had come to the same conclusions much earlier. His "search" had yielded an obviously discarded glove, a single relatively large hole on the back of the hand where some chemical had eaten through revealing the reason she had thrown it away.

Hordak had taken it apart, studying it like any scientific specimen he needed to yield up its secrets.

His intentions had been not to make any solid observations until the entire glove had been disassembled, but the moment he felt the lining inside the glove, he knew exactly what it was and the knowledge shook him to the very marrow of his bones. Unbeknownst to anyone but himself, there was only one textile in Etheria he had discovered he could tolerate against his skin, so all of his clothing was lined with it. It was finely woven out of pulp from a plant the Etherians called a _poa_. While it was technically classified as a grass, the plant itself more closely resembled a stalk or a tree, depending on the species. But the lining inside Entrapta's gloves was the original formulation. Hordak had long ago modified the plant and weave to make it much more durable without sacrificing softness.

He could make her something stronger, better. He tried to ignore the warmth spreading through his chest, having already realized it was some sort of emotional response. The first time he felt it, he'd thought it was a new symptom of his defects, possibly even a speeding up of the degeneration of his cells. Yet when no extra damage showed up, he'd charted it, finding that it only happened when in the presence or thinking of his.. lab partner.

He refused to delve any further than that.

Continued examination of the glove revealed a double-layer of delicate mesh made of some type of steel, topped off with a thin layer of polymer similar to rubber. The result was definitely usable, and likely the best Entrapta had been able to come up with since her specialty was with robotics and First Ones' technology, rather than his more well-rounded talents. But what he could create would be so much better.

He had come to realize that she was the master of her fields of expertise, while he was a jack-of-all-trades when it came to the sciences. Yet that designation would serve him well now, his knowledge of biology, botany, and chemistry coming into play.

Which was why he had made sure everything was securely locked down before retiring to his quarters. He absolutely refused to let anyone see him as he was now, ensconced in a ridiculously padded chair Etherians called a recliner, a nutrient pack hanging above and hooked into his lower-left abdomen port via a tube, with yards of incredibly fine thread made of nearly microscopic iridium rings hugging a strand of elasticized polymer pooled on the floor beside him. Imp was curled up on the right arm of the recliner, tail swishing and still looking very satisfied with himself even as he napped.

Hordak was well aware that Etherians as a whole considered knitting to be a recreational activity for the old and decrepit. Especially of the more feminine persuasion. In contrast to the Imperial Horde, where clones were hatched with the knowledge of how to clothe themselves, including how to sew and knit. His armies on Etheria would likely laugh themselves to death at the thought that he was not only good at it, he could honestly say he enjoyed the rhythmic motions of moving the needles, making the tiniest of knots at a speed far superior to that of an Etherian to ensure the finished product would not irritate its future owner in any way, shape, or form.

Once he was finished, he would turn the seamless gloves inside-out and glue his specifically-engineered _poa_ fabric onto the outer layer with the strongest adhesive he knew of. He'd noticed how the example glove had seams that were meant to be as small as possible, so he would eliminate them all.

He only hoped he would get everything done in time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a little rusty since it's been a while since I wrote anything, and I wanted to share this story while it was still the holiday season instead of shoving it in a random folder, so please forgive any typos or awkward phrasings that have escaped my notice.
> 
> This was supposed to be a short and sweet one-shot that just kept growing as I typed. So now it's a 9K word two-shot with the second part being much longer than the first. Because I should have known better than to put those two adorable, awkward science nerds in a room together.


	2. A Personal Touch

"Solstice Log number 21. Successful fusion has occurred and the items have been procured with a little more than an hour before the end of the day, yet the recipient was not in his throne room, Sanctum, or anywhere in the Horde common areas. By the process of elimination, I have determined the only place he could be is in his quarters. Social and ethical dilemma: going there when he's not occupying them is one thing. Directly invading his privacy is another. Especially with my only excuse being that I have Solstice presents for him."

Entrapta clicked off her recorder, studying the quite literal crossroads of ductwork in front of her. If she took the right-hand path in front of her, she would be led right back to her own quarters. If she went left, she'd be in Hordak's. Behind her was the Sanctum, where she had briefly returned to after her search around the rest of the Horde base. She knew such hesitation wasn't in her nature, but she understood that private rooms were, well, private. She fully recognized that while to her a bedroom was a public area since she tended to fall asleep practically anywhere relatively secure, others did not think that way. For her, the most private room was the bathroom. If anyone just walked in on her there, especially while trying to deal with bathing, she would have a full-scale meltdown.

Yet she had invaded his while he wasn't there, not really making the connection until one day Hordak hadn't been feeling very well and he stopped work early. Not that he would ever say when he had reached his limit. Entrapta had learned the signs. His shoulders would slump a little more. The scratch of a pencil and paper would grow slower, hesitating more during his calculations. An occasional sigh or grunt of what was obviously pain would pass his lips. Then he had done his best to stalk through doors that opened at his approach and slammed behind him.

She had thought that suite of rooms was abandoned, and her tremendous faux pas had weighed heavily on her for days.

Suddenly there was a scrabbling sound coming from the left that Entrapta didn't recognize at first, only making the connection when a pair of glowing yellow eyes came in sight.

"Imp!" she greeted the little messenger enthusiastically. "What are you doing here?"

Imp shifted from a crawl to sit cross-legged in front of Entrapta, opening his mouth with a look that told Entrapta he was very proud of himself. "If you see Entrapta trying to find me, lead her to the study and notify me," Hordak's voice proclaimed.

"The Study?" Entrapta asked, her curiosity piqued.

Imp nodded and shifted to the side so he could go back on all fours, this time giving Entrapta a perfect view of his posterior.

She knew Imp had done that on purpose to amuse her judging by the playful wiggle of his tail. Entrapta let a snort of laughter escape before using her hair to crawl after him down the left-hand duct.

~*~*~*~

"Whoa," Entrapta said as she followed Imp through a vent in what would be the ceiling of a room where warm light radiated upward to greet them. Imp immediately flew onto the mantle of what Entrapta recognized as a fireplace. Entrapta let herself down slowly by her hair, taking in as much as she possibly could. The room wasn't very big, maybe half the size of her bedroom back in Dryl, but the usual metallic, Horde-green walls had been crafted into bookshelves that reached all the way up to the ceiling. A ladder made of scrap from the walls on a wheeled track let her know that yes, all the reading materials could be accessed at any time. Then she turned her attention to the fireplace. It, too, was carved out of the walls, but the opening where a fire burned was curved, echoing a series of arches a good fifteen feet in the air built to look like some sort of magic user had pulled alloy from the walls like taffy. The mantelpiece was some kind of luminescent stone, gathering heat and light from the fire, which Entrapta then recognized as having a slightly purple tint to it.

She stepped a little closer to the fire, only to realize that the heat coming from it wasn't oppressive. It very gently warmed the exposed skin of her face and shoulders, and it was all she could do not to stick her head directly into the hearth so she could analyze it.

"Bioluminescent flame. Its color comes from the bacteria of the algae-treated fuel source."

A loud clang sounded as the metal mask on top of Entrapta's head banged against the peak of the fireplace arch. She cringed from the sound, then turned to face Hordak, feeling sheepish as a tendril of hair rubbed the likely dent she had put in her protective gear. "Fascinating," she said with her usual inflection of scientific wonder. She lifted her head, intending to focus her eyes between the clasps of his cloak like usual when she realized he wasn't wearing one.

Her eyes flitted over the rest of his torso, mildly relieved that he was wearing his armor, just not the cloak. She ventured to look just a little bit higher to see that his usual tunic had a very high collar, covering his neck almost completely.

Hordak tried not to fidget under Entrapta's obvious inspection. It hadn't occurred to him that she had never seen him without his cloak before. It had been difficult enough to subject himself to re-donning his armor, necessary evil that it was. He suddenly felt a lot more vulnerable than he had intended, fighting the instinct to try and cover the port at the back of his neck. Entrapta's hair was prehensile, true, but it was not keyed to his ports like Horde Prime's. Yet old habits died very hard indeed.

In an effort to feel a little more protected, Hordak took a seat in the nearest of the two high-backed chairs in front of the fire. Thankfully both were fairly well-padded, though the one he claimed had a few more pillows on it that he could adjust as he saw fit.

Hordak's actions did not escape Entrapta's notice, either, and she finally took in the rather incongruous presence of two wooden chairs. The backs of them rose toward the ceiling, so tall that if she stood on the seat of the chair, it would still be a good thirty centimeters above her head. Yet it was obvious the chairs were made specifically for the room since the peak of the chair backs were carved with the same arch as the fireplace, though in this case the curve was flanked by two spikes. They were rather intimidating to the untrained eye.

But Entrapta wasn't fooled. The backs also had a generous expanse of crimson, padded leather running along the center, and the seat as well as the armrests looked quite cushy indeed. Her observations were rewarded as she sat down, the smooth material sinking slightly to cradle its new occupant.

Silence reigned for a few minutes, the reality of the situation sinking in for both Entrapta and Hordak. Being alone together in the lab was one thing, but they were in one of Hordak's private rooms with only Imp as a chaperone.

Hordak was the one to break the detente. "I.. apologize if my choice of meeting place has made you uncomfortable."

Entrapta shook her head. "No, no, not at all. In fact, I'm glad you sent Imp. I know barging in is kinda my thing, but I'm trying to be a little more considerate."

Hordak snorted. "Had you not 'barged in' to my Sanctum, my portal research would have continued to be at a complete standstill." He wished he could smile, but he knew full well it spoke more of evil than reassurance when he did. "Is there any particular reason you were looking for me?"

Hordak watched as the skin along Entrapta's cheekbones changed color, the tone richer. That was when he realized she was blushing, a phenomenon he had never before witnessed. Her hair separated into hand-like appendages and she twiddled her hair-thumbs.

"I owe you an apology," Entrapta said, her eyes fixed in her lap.

Hordak blinked. "What for?"

Entrapta's blush deepened. "I didn't even think about the social ramifications of what I was doing in pursuit of new information," she said. "For that reason, I'm not even sure I should present you with the Solstice gifts I made."

"You made a Solstice gift? For me?" Hordak prompted.

"Yes. I'm not sure I got them exactly right, but I hoped I was close enough after analyzing the samples I'd taken. Oh heck with it. Here!" Entrapta reached into some apparently hidden pocket in her overalls with a tendril of hair before pulling out a package wrapped in a bunch of ration bar wrappers taped together and offered it to Hordak, holding it just far enough away he wouldn't have to strain but still outside of his personal space.

Hordak refused to acknowledge the slight tremor in his hand as he accepted the package. It was astonishingly heavy for its size, slightly less wide than his palm but long enough to perch comfortably on his thighs. He could feel Entrapta's anxious gaze on him, so he wasted no time in shredding the wrappers.

And nearly dropped the contents.

Three plastic bottles, the smaller two being half the size of the largest. Two of the three, he recognized instantly, his theory confirmed as he turned the largest bottle to reveal the label with the words "Washing Gel" written in Entrapta's rather distinctive, jagged hand. He ground out, "You've. Been. In. My..." He paused even longer, trying to find an accurate Etherian word, "Facilities?!"

"I'm sorry! I really am! It was the bathroom closest to the lab, and I thought it was abandoned or just hadn't been finished, since there was no sink or bathtub. At least until I realized that it was located off the same hallway as the rest of your private quarters. But by then I'd already started analyzing the various substances in the unlabeled bottles on the vanity where the sink should have been."

Hordak closed his eyes and counted to twenty.. in Imperial. Which was closer to forty in Etherian. While one hand kept the bottles in his lap, his other wrapped around the arm of his chair, the tips of his fingers sinking into the wood from the force of his grip. There was no use yelling at her. It wouldn't change anything. She was also apologizing, something she rarely did, obviously upset at having invaded his privacy. The fact that he even needed such a room was degrading, but she had been in there. Went through the bottles of carefully-crafted toiletries that weren't labeled because he knew exactly what each one was by sight, scent, and location. That he hadn't even noticed her intrusion spoke of how well she had covered her tracks. He should have been furious, but in fact, he was unnerved that she had returned things to their places so perfectly that he had never suspected a thing.

"I haven't gone in there since I realized it was yours," Entrapta said. "I use my own bathroom for everything now, even though it takes me longer."

So that was why her trips to "The Little Scientists' Room", as she called it, had been taking longer. At first, he had been concerned when that lasted more than a week, but as she seemed to be all right, he hadn't called her on it. He took as deep a breath as he could while wearing his armor, letting it out very slowly. The damage had already been done, and she had not mocked him for it. Instead, she had apparently reverse-engineered some of his toiletries. He slowly loosened his grip on the arm of the chair, moving his hand so he could carefully roll one of the two smaller bottles in place so he could read the label: "Disinfectant".

Entrapta's hair thumbs were a blur by now, her heart thumping painfully in her chest. She was not used to feeling embarrassed or ashamed about any experiment. Had never cared about another person's good opinion. But the look of sheer horror on her lab partner's face had made her stomach sink to about the vicinity of her boots. She absolutely refused to look at him, until she noticed movement out of the corner of her eye. She then took a tentative peek to see him turning one of the bottles as if it would bite him once the label was revealed.

Hordak slowly put the other two bottles aside to focus on the so-labeled "Disinfectant". He gingerly unscrewed the cap, bringing it somewhat near his nose with the opposite hand before wafting any scent toward himself with his fingers while the thumb held the cap securely so he wouldn't drop it. He could feel himself blinking rapidly as he tried to process the difference in scent. "What is in this?" he asked. It was only after the words left his lips that he realized he had asked the question out loud.

"I kept the base materials absolutely the same. I just removed that hideous-smelling oil you had in there. Yes, it has antibacterial properties, but I have no idea how you stood it! So I replaced it with isopropyl alcohol infused with _citron_ peel. Still kills all that nasty bacteria, but doesn't smell half as bad," was Entrapta's reply.

Hordak was most certainly inclined to agree. He carefully replaced the cap, making sure it was secure before swapping out the small bottle in his hand for the other one resting beside his leg in the chair. He tilted the newest addition, realizing that the contents were not a gel, but some sort of crystals. He turned the container around and tried to make out the writing on the label. "I can't even pronounce this."

Entrapta grinned, clapping her actual hands together. "It's shampoo!"

"I have heard that term before," Hordak said as he mulled over the word. Then it came to him. It was a product many Etherians used in their hair!

"You've just been using the washing gel for your hair, too, haven't you?" Entrapta asked.

For some reason, Hordak felt mildly embarrassed. Maybe it was the slight tone of censure in Entrapta's voice. That in and of itself was new. The only ones allowed to criticize him were himself and Horde Prime! Yet he found himself actually wanting to please the diminutive Etherian currently occupying the other chair in the room, so her displeasure rankled. "Yes," he finally admitted.

"Thought so," Entrapta said with a single nod, her arms folding over her chest in satisfaction of her theory being correct. "I was originally just going to share my formula with you if you wanted after I gave you a sample. Then I realized between the lack of a bath, shower, or sink and all your products being gels, powders or crystals that you don't use water to clean yourself, do you?"

Hordak could feel that traitorous heat stealing into his cheeks again. He chose his words carefully, unwilling to give her the complete picture yet. She had exposed him more than enough for one day. "Normally those of my species do not require bathing, only maintenance," he explained, as much as it pained him to do so. "The fact that I must, it is," he lowered his voice, hating to give voice to the last thing Horde Prime had ever called him, an epithet that haunted him like a specter, "an abomination."

"Wait, maintenance?" Entrapta echoed, excitement making her clasp her hands as her hair turned up in the ends in a series of enthusiastic curls and her eyes sparkled. "I thought at least part of you was organic! So you're robotic? An A.I.? Something else entirely mechanical?" As she spoke, she pulled out a notepad and pencil from who knew where and held both with lengths of her hair.

"I am.. more organic than I would like to be," Hordak admitted. He knew he should be quite disturbed by the look in Entrapta's eyes, as if she were ready to dissect him on the spot in the name of science. Perhaps it was just another defect that he found her excitement infectious, pulling him out of his usual funk much faster than usual. In fact, he found himself fighting the impulse to try something completely radical for him, just to see how she reacted, before throwing caution to the wind and going for it. "And no, I am not available for dissection to satisfy your curiosity."

Entrapta blinked slowly, obviously processing as she put the notepad and pencil back in their special, designated pockets of her overalls. "Are you.. teasing me?"

"I have seen what you do to the battle droids. I assure you, I would not survive such treatment," Hordak told her, as dryly as possible.

All at once, Entrapta brightened. "You _are_ teasing me! In a good way!"

"Perhaps," was Hordak's reply, but he felt the ghost of a smile trying to pry the corners of his own mouth upward. "However, that is besides the point. As you correctly surmised, I avoid water to the best of my ability." Hordak debated how much to tell his lab partner, but he was sure there would eventually come a day that the weight of his cloak would be too much for him and he would have to work in his Sanctum without it. Then yet another major weakness would be revealed, and he wouldn't have a choice. He slowly turned his body so that the back of his neck faced Entrapta. He felt a chill up his spine, knowing she had no idea exactly what he was sacrificing to reveal yet another closely-guarded secret about his being. One more slow, painful breath, and he folded his collar down.

Entrapta's eyes widened as Hordak turned down his collar, revealing what had been so carefully concealed. "What in the world?" She paused, studying what would appear to someone not technologically-inclined to be a big, dark hole in the back of his neck. "Is that a port?" Her voice climbed up nearly an octave on the last word.

"Yes it is." Hordak quickly covered said port back up, turning to face Entrapta once more. He had learned over time that she avoided it if he tried to look her in the eyes, so instead he fixed his gaze between them, where a tiny wrinkle appeared when she was concentrating. "As I said, I am an organic being, but greatly enhanced by technology. If water got into a port, it would not be.. good." Understatement of the year, but he had no wish to alarm her.

Entrapta beamed. "Now I'm really glad I discovered I could crystallize my own shampoo formula, and it works just as well to remove oil, dirt, bodily debris, and so on. I would have made you conditioner, too, but I doubt you need it since you have so little hair compared to me."

"How did you test it?" Hordak asked warily.

"That's easy! Imp volunteered when I told him what I was doing!"

Hordak instantly cast a baleful eye on the spy he had thought was entirely loyal to him. "Traitor," he hissed.

Imp, who had been lazing on the mantelpiece during the entire conversation, stuck his tongue out, securely wrapped in his own wings and the knowledge that he had a protector in the room to save him from any of Hordak's wrath.

"Don't get mad at him. He was only trying to help!" Entrapta insisted.

"Only trying to get pampered, more like," Hordak growled. Then he reigned himself in. "I.. appreciate all the trouble you went to. It was unnecessary."

"Unnecessary, but fun," Entrapta said. "If you end up liking the shampoo, just let me know and I'll write up the formula for you." An awkward silence followed, which prompted Entrapta to stand up. "I guess I'll be going now."

"Wait!" Hordak snapped, once again angry at himself for being a complete and total coward. He'd been about to just let Entrapta leave. He hated feeling so uncertain about his own abilities in front of another person. Well, if she didn't like his creations, there was a fire handy she could toss them into. 

Entrapta had frozen in place, hands behind her back and her head tilted in a silent question.

Hordak reached behind a pillow he had placed near his back on the left side, drawing out a long, thin cardboard box wrapped in simple brown paper. He transferred the package to his right hand before extending it out towards Entrapta. "Here," was all he said, his head turned in the opposite direction, unable to look at Entrapta directly.

"A Solstice gift? For me?"

The incredulousness in her voice nearly broke him.

"I mean, I'd heard Scorpia gives everyone a gift, and we're friends, so I was expecting that. I wasn't expecting _this_ ," Entrapta said.

Hordak felt the slight tug of either her hand or her hair, he had no idea which, on the box he was holding and relinquished the package.

Confusion filled Entrapta's mind as she tried to make sense of Hordak's body language. She knew she wasn't the best at reading people's thoughts and emotions, but his current attitude didn't fit any of his known "modes", one might say. He was looking away from her, as if he couldn't bear to watch. She was used to him yelling and snapping when he was uncomfortable. Then again, when he had to retreat to his rooms, he was gruff but not loud. As if he no longer had the spare energy to get worked up.

Suddenly, it hit her. It was nearly midnight. He had to be exhausted! Entrapta filed her deductions away for later, needing more evidence. Yet the more she thought about it, the more she was convinced her theory was correct.

Still, the treasure in her hands was the last thing she had expected. As far as she was aware, Hordak simply didn't _do_ gifts, even handing out Force Captain badges only when absolutely required to. Her curiosity was also piqued as she wondered what he could have gotten her that would cause him such discomfort.

Realizing it had been more than a minute since she had taken the package with her hair and Hordak's shoulders had tensed considerably in the meantime, Entrapta continued to let her hair do the work, quickly yet carefully slicing through the precise seams of the impromptu wrapping paper to reveal a plain cardboard box, clearly requisitioned from storage, beneath.

Entrapta took a deep breath, then lifted the top of the box off with a length of hair. She froze, her mind trying to wrap itself around what she was seeing.

"If you don't like them, you can simply dispose of them," Hordak's voice broke into her reverie.

"I..." Entrapta sat heavily back down in her chair, staring at the contents as best she could through the haze of dampness that threatened to coalesce and fall down her cheeks. She reached out with a hand, then stopped, letting yet another tendril of hair take over to brush against the black gloves that apparently had some sort of silvery metal woven into it as it caught the light from the fire. She was absolutely shocked to feel how smooth it was to the touch. Not unpleasant at all. Then she wriggled said tendril into the glove and she felt as if all the air had been knocked from her lungs. He had gotten the lining right, though there was something different about the weave.

"The _poa_ fabric in your gloves is of my own invention," Hordak said, his voice very carefully neutral. "It is more durable than the traditional weave used in your original gloves."

"Your own invention?" Entrapta echoed. She pulled her hair back, then drew it lightly over the top of the gloves again. The odd textile didn't catch or pull at her hair the slightest bit. She held it up to the light, even closer to her eyes, and that was when she noticed the incredibly fine knit, so tiny and practically invisible to her naked eye. "They're knitted."

"Elastic polymer and iridium," Hordak supplied. "Resistant to extreme heat, cold, pressure, and likely to survive droplets of acid. No guarantee on entire vials of corrosive material, though."

Entrapta knew that tone coming from Hordak: self-flagellation for reasons he had never shared with her. Then again, he was a perfectionist, after all. She had realized early on that anything less than perfection was unacceptable in his eyes, or so he proclaimed. Though his actions clearly spoke otherwise, taking in such a motley crew of both adults and children to form his army.

"Did you make these yourself?" Entrapta asked.

"Yes." Hordak's response was clipped, expecting rejection.

Entrapta lifted her head and turned to stare directly at him, willing him to face her. When that didn't work, she told only the truth. "They're amazing!"

Hordak's head whipped around so fast, Entrapta was a bit worried he might aggravate whatever it was that so often caused him physical pain. "You.. you're serious."

His eyes were so wide with wonder, it made Entrapta's chest and throat hurt. Hordak had made himself incredibly vulnerable to her tonight. The least she could do was return the favor. "Of course I am. I can't wait to try them on!"

Hordak's eyes, impossibly, somehow went even wider before he quickly swiveled in a way that had to hurt, his back to her once again.

Entrapta had seen that reaction before, and she honestly wanted to chuckle. Though she completely understood it. No organic being currently still in existence had ever seen her without her gloves, even for a split second. Yet she was also aware that her snort of laughter might be misconstrued. A bit of humor leaked out anyway as she said, "It's okay. You can watch."

Hordak closed his eyes, trying to calm his hearts back into synch, the fierce pounding of one suppressing the rhythm of the other. The logical part of his brain tried to reason that it was just her hands, but somehow it felt inappropriate. That to do as she asked would be invading a very personal moment.

"Hordak." Her voice floated once again to his ears, which he knew were almost completely parallel to the floor at this point, drawing out the vowels in his name as if she were savoring them. "I _want_ you to watch."

["I _want_ you to watch." - by cinamoncune](https://twitter.com/cinamonfluff/status/1244393275865337858?s=20)

Curse his defective body for its reactions. Damn his degenerate mind, thinking things he shouldn't. Making him react in ways utterly foreign to a clone of the Imperial Horde. A pox on his infernal instincts, ones that were supposed to be dormant, recognizing the lilt of her tone. He was fully aware she was an adult female, despite her short stature, and that was only being proven by the sly implication of her words.

"Please?"

Her plea, so simple yet primal, shattered what little resolve he had left. Hordak shifted back in his chair, doing what he could to ease the aches and pains he'd caused himself with his earlier swift movements. Only once he was comfortable did he lift his gaze slightly, landing on her lips, which were curled upwards at the corners with a knowledge likely older than time itself.

Entrapta refused to allow herself to think about what she was doing. Otherwise, she would likely run out of the room in utter embarrassment. She had never tried flirtation, never even had the inclination, truth be told. She had always just accepted that it must be a side effect of having a mind that functioned on a completely different level than the majority of society. But now, for the first time, she wanted to. She could feel her own bodily reactions, mentally noting them to record later. She could feel the power she held as she watched Hordak settle back in his seat, turning toward her with torturous slowness and the heat in his crimson eyes landing on her lips.

Only to rapidly divert to her hands as she wrapped a tendril of hair around the tip of the longest finger of the protective gloves she had been wearing for as far back as she could remember. She took her time, wriggling each finger loose bit by bit, feeling the heat in her cheeks spreading down her neck to disappear into her cleavage as she did so. Entrapta could hear the cadence of Hordak's breath even over the pounding in her ears as she took the final step, drawing the covering she had relied on forever up and away, revealing dusky flesh as the glove cleared her wrist.

If Hordak hadn't already been painfully aware of how defective he was, this proved it. He'd seen the kind of things his Horde soldiers squirreled away in their lockers, and the performance before him was not even a touch as lewd. Yet he found himself hanging onto every moment, his reaction visceral as skin he had never seen before came to light. He had not allowed himself any expectations, but in his eyes, the appendage revealed was flawless. A short, broad palm perfect for grasping heavy tools gave way to stout fingers that practically had muscles of their own but tapered just slightly at the tip, giving them a hint of femininity. Her nails were short, not bitten or torn, but clipped down as far as they could go without hitting the quick. Hordak tried to swallow, and he succeeded with only a little difficulty considering how dry his throat had gone. Then once more his lips and vocal chords worked without his permission. "Exquisite."

Entrapta had no idea she could blush so hard, her skin tingling with fire that had nothing to do with the flame in the fireplace. She didn't know what to say, wasn't even sure Hordak meant to speak his findings out loud, so she stayed silent, figuring actions would speak louder than words, anyway. She set her original glove aside and picked up the left-hand glove with her still-covered right hand. The moment she tentatively started to slide her left hand in, she bit her lip and her eyes closed. Somehow this new weave of the lining felt even better than the original, caressing her oversensitive skin with absolutely no trace of irritation. Once her left hand was completely enveloped once again, she wiggled and flexed her fingers, feeling the give and completely even pressure conveyed by the perfectly uniform knit. She cleared her throat, wanting to acknowledge the enormity of his gift verbally. "It's perfect. Way better than my old ones. You're lucky I had no idea there was a better option earlier, or I would have joined the Horde years ago!"

Hordak heard the entirety of her statement, but his mind clung to her very first words. She had judged his creation as perfect. Not wanting in any way, shape, or form. He let out a heavy breath, watching her as she continued to test the new glove for a moment, then instead of performing another impromptu striptease, Entrapta simply pulled off her right glove with an enthusiastic yank of her hair and her momentarily bare hand darted inside the other glove remaining in the box. He watched as she made happy little sounds, rubbing the gloves against each other, gliding them through her hair, running them along the arms of the chair. That last one was bad enough, but then she started to slide her hands over her clothing. Hordak closed his eyes and sighed. The things this woman did to him, and she likely had no idea.

Then he thought back to a few moments earlier. Perhaps she did.

"This is incredible!" Entrapta's enthusiasm broke into Hordak's thoughts. "They don't snag on anything despite the fact they are metal, but grip when I want them to!"

Hordak fought to keep his voice level. "They will only grip when you apply a certain amount of pressure. That way they are quite functional to work in, yet should not cause you any undue discomfort."

"You thought of everything. No one's ever done that for me before," Entrapta said, her tone much softer than before.

Hordak dared to look over at her again, and he would do anything to erase the hints of old pain that seeped out between the cracks in her composure. "I would also like to offer you..." He paused to fight down a wave of panic. He must be insane! No, this was practical. Necessary. "I officially grant you permission to use the facilities off the hallway. I will key the outer doors and that one to allow you passage in case you decide to gain access through the more traditional routes."

Entrapta's eyes went wide. "I can't ask you to do that!"

"You did not ask. I am offering. Consider it a third gift, so we can be even. Two gloves and one, what have I heard the instructors call it? Ah, yes, bathroom pass."

"But what about you? What if we have to go at the same time?" Entrapta queried.

Hordak gave a long-suffering sigh. On the one hand, he didn't want to reveal even more about his personal habits, but on the other, this was Entrapta. His lab partner. "I have a similar room attached to my bedchamber for convenience, and the two are equidistant from the Sanctum," he informed her. He knew not to tell her the ensuite room was much smaller, created only for emergencies, but he was well aware if she had that information, she would insist on refusing his impromptu gift.

"As long as it won't make anything harder for you.. thank you," Entrapta said, wrapping her arms around herself and twisting her torso from side to side.

Warmth flooded Hordak's entire being as he watched. The room was too small for her to twirl around, so she was doing her "confined space" version. He knew that she only wanted to twirl when she was intensely happy, and the thought that she was so pleased because of _him_ made emotions rise up in him that he had thought long dead. For the moment, he shared in her happiness and he felt content knowing he had finally done something right. "Also, in case you feel adventurous and since you have already reverse engineered the recipe, the washing gel can be sluiced off with water, rather than rubbed off as I do."

"Really?" Entrapta asked, then her joyous movements increased even more. "I did think about experimenting with it, but I wasn't sure about the removal method."

Suddenly, the moment was interrupted by the foghorn that announced noon and the midnight hour in the Fright Zone.

"Midnight already?" Entrapta asked, snapping to attention. "Where has the time gone? Though they do say 'time flies when you're having fun'. I didn't mean to keep you up so late."

Hordak waved off her apology. "There was important business for us to discuss," he replied, finally allowing the smallest of smiles to touch his lips, hoping it didn't look too frightening.

Entrapta's eyes widened, then she grinned in response. "I don't think I've ever seen you smile like that. You should do it more often."

Hordak couldn't help but watch as Entrapta stretched, her arms going above her head, her hands still safely encased in her new gloves. Hordak found his eyes roaming over her form, her generous chest thrust out so innocently as she cracked her spine in a way that would have made him cringe, if a groan of satisfaction coming from her lips hadn't counteracted it.

If he had ever doubted Etherians were fools, the fact that Entrapta did not already have a lifemate only proved it.

"Anyway, we should probably both get some sleep," Entrapta said. "Although, how many nutrient packs have you had today?"

Hordak stared at her, stunned. "What did you say?"

"Your nutrient packs," Entrapta replied, a little impatiently. "I wasn't sure at first what in the world you were hiding in your cloak since you didn't always have whatever it was. Then I realized that you only carried them when we worked all day. So I kept my eye out and there was one time you needed to stop early and threw an empty pouch in the trash rather than taking it with you."

It was all Hordak could do not to thump his head back against the chair in time to his thoughts as he closed his eyes in mortification. Stupid, stupid, stupid. He had failed once again in concealing one of his major weaknesses from her.

Suddenly, a slight weight on the backs of the fingers of his right hand snapped him back to his senses. He opened his eyes, only to stare in awe, scarcely daring to breathe in case the slightest move sent Entrapta running. Her own fingers, newly clad in his creation, rested over his, having steered clear of the armor that stretched to a point over the back of his hand. He almost regretted that particular design decision at the moment.

"There's no need to be embarrassed about taking care of yourself," Entrapta said, her voice trembling slightly.

["There's no need to be embarrassed about taking care of yourself" - by cinamoncune](https://twitter.com/cinamoncune/status/1244677552591056909?s=20)

Hordak tore his gaze away from their nearly entwined fingers intending to look her in the face, then discovered to his horrified chagrin that he had miscalculated. He was so used to her being either shorter or at the same height as him, he failed to take into account the fact that when he was seated, she was taller. Which was how he found himself staring her directly in the chest instead.

Now both of his hearts were thumping wildly, but thankfully in synch. He redirected his attention as quickly as he could, but the damage had already been done. A situation only made worse by the fact he had no idea the exact angle he would have to tilt his head to in order to hit his original target, so it took him far longer than was proper or in any way reasonable. When he finally found it, his line of sight finally alighting between her eyes like usual, he felt a wave of relief at seeing that she was amused by his fumble rather than offended. Yet that did nothing to alleviate the heat he could feel in his cheeks and the tips of his ears.

They had never been in such close proximity to each other. He finally registered precisely _where_ she was standing, and he had never been more thankful he was NOT an Etherian male. How they did not die of embarrassment on a regular basis was a mystery to him. Entrapta's body language let him know she was completely oblivious to the fact she was currently standing between his knees. It didn't matter that their bodies weren't touching save for the continued presence of her fingers resting on his. He could feel the warmth her lush body radiated by her mere proximity.

Not only that, he was now keenly aware there was only one other being in the universe he had ever tilted his head back to, a baring of the throat that was a sign of submission. Yet it didn't feel wrong in the slightest. It somehow felt strangely _right_.

Entrapta, for her part, was keenly aware of the way her blood rushed through her veins, making her entire body practically glow with heat. Her heart threatened to beat out of her chest with both fear and elation, the former quickly overtaken by the latter. She could feel the solid flesh and bone beneath her fingers. She appreciated the way he stayed so still, allowing her to find her metaphorical footing and bolstering her belief in how safe she was in his presence. She hadn't planned to try touching him so quickly, but she needed to make him understand how important it was to take care of himself!

Then the seriousness of the situation was momentarily derailed as he tried to look at her. Entrapta bit her lip as she watched his eyes go round, filling with appreciation for the span of several heartbeats before awareness seeped in. She hadn't meant to put him in an awkward position, but she couldn't argue with the results. He was obviously trying to be a gentleman, but his interest was undeniable. She did not dare laugh, for she knew him well enough that he would misconstrue any amusement on her part, especially in such a delicate moment.

When he had finally lifted his eyes far enough, the flush on his cheeks, the way both his head and his ears were tilted back, and his hair starting to rebel against its usual rigid style made Entrapta want to continue flustering him. But she also knew full well he had to be exhausted, and it would be counter to all of her best intentions.

"It is much better to keep yourself rested, nourished, and hydrated than work until you collapse. Believe me, I know," Entrapta admitted. "Which would you rather? Lose a few hours to take care of your needs, or lose several days because you overdid it?"

Hordak blinked, doing his dutiful best to reboot his usually formidable brain that seemed to have somehow seeped out of his ears. "I understand what you are saying, and your logic is infallible."

Entrapta gave a frustrated sigh, then straightened, her fingers lingering as they brushed over his before she stood up even straighter, putting her hands on her hips. "So, how many nutrient packs have you had today?"

"Two." Hordak internally cringed as the word that he intended to come out in a belligerent tone ended up being more apologetic than anything else.

"Then make sure you have another one before you go to sleep. Even if you don't care about your health, I do."

Entrapta might as well have hit him over the head with the Horde Mothership. She had absolutely no idea of the enormity of his afflictions. She was only working on the assumption he tended to run himself ragged, as most people with any kind of decent work ethic did from time to time. Still, no one had ever expressed concern over his well-being. Anything less than perfection was simply not tolerated in the Imperial Horde, and here on Etheria, he was the closest thing to Horde Prime on the entire planet, so he had to keep up appearances.

Was this what having a partner was like?

"Promise me!"

Entrapta's demand cut through his musing. "I give you my word," Hordak replied, ashamed yet again of his bodily weaknesses but knowing he would obey. Because she had asked him to.

"Good," Entrapta replied, letting her hands move from fists on her hips to crossing her arms. _Beneath_ her breasts. "Eat, get some rest, and we'll get back to working on the portal project in the morning." Before she could think the better of it, she pressed the end of a hair tendril to her lips, then swiftly sent it out to tap, whisper soft, against Hordak's right cheek. "'Night!"

Hordak sat, stunned, as he watched Entrapta hoist herself up by her hair, back through the vent in the ceiling she had obviously originally used to enter the room. Her booted feet hadn't even fully cleared the opening before Hordak found his hand making its way to his face, cupping the area she had just touched.

She had touched his armor, his clothing, with her hair before, but never any actual flesh. He had been shocked enough at the fact she had put her gloved fingers over his, but this was absolutely unprecedented. Hordak allowed his eyes to flutter closed, desperate to embed the memory of how her hair felt against his cheek. He had half expected it to be smooth and thick like optical fiber or springy and durable given that the mass as a whole could support her entire body weight easily. Nothing could have prepared him for how soft it was, whispering over his skin like the finest of silk. Not only that, he recognized the gesture she had made.

It had been a variation on “blowing him a kiss”, an Etherian sign of affection.

He was doomed. Completely and utterly doomed. Yet he was determined from that point forward to savor every single moment of Entrapta's presence by his side, for however long the universe decided to allow him such an utterly unexpected gift.

"Happy Solstice, indeed."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for the warm reception Part 1 received. It really made my day! I can only hope this second part lived up to expectations. I really hadn’t planned to make an actual series, but since finishing this story, a bunch more ideas have cropped up. So I’m looking forward to sharing more headcanons and fluff (and eventual smut, but this is an incredibly slow burn and the more explicit stories will be gathered in a separate series as a sequel to this one, so those who wish to avoid such material won’t run into any surprises).


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